Tough,Tenacious And Committed -Uzodimma's decisive steps to secure Imo State. By Prince Eze Ugochukwu.

IMO STATE PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT

Tough,Tenacious And Committed -Uzodimma's decisive steps to secure Imo State

By Prince Eze Ugochukwu.

Imo State was not left out in the year, 2020 when the activities of unknown gunmen, bandits and kidnappers erupted in the entire South Eastern Nigeria.

At first, it started as the Endsars protest, but quickly metamorphosed into deadly incursions into the state capital and some local government areas.

Unknowingly, a cross section of the population cheered and claped for the bandits and tagged them as liberators despite the note of warning sounded by His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodimma against the embrace of armed non-state actors.

On Monday, April 5, 2021, gunmen attacked the prison and police headquarters in Owerri, Imo State, freeing 1,844 inmates. The attackers who stormed the facility at about 0215hrs gained entrance into the yard by using explosives to blast the administrative block.

They were said to have arrived the centre in their large number in several Hilux pick-up vans and Sienna Buses armed with sophisticated weapons and immediately engaged the security personnel on duty in a fierce gun battle. The following day, the then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo arrived in Imo State to assess the damages.

A few weeks later, some gunmen attacked the country home of the governor in his Omuma hometown of the Oru East Local Government Area, killing two security operatives.

On April 6, 2021, bandits stormed a police station in Ehime Mbano, also in Imo State, freeing detainees.

Then in May 2021, Ahmed Gulak, an 
APC chieftain and ex-aide to President Goodluck Jonathan, was shot dead on a sunday morning, on his way to the Sam Mbakwe Airport to catch flight to Abuja.

In July of the same year, a large group of gunmen drove into the town of Omuma in a convoy of three vehicles. They ended up killing the divisional police officer of Oru East local government area.

And on and on it went daily without abating. You name it, schools were attacked, students were stopped from taking exams, police stations were bombed and prisoners released, traditional rulers were killed and kidnapped, and even clergymen were not left out. Markets were forced to close down and motorists and transporters were waylaid and assassinated. Hell was let loose in Imo State.

The Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma lamented that the South East is under siege, and facing severe attacks arising from the activities of bandits, armed robbers, and criminals adding that “all efforts being made to stamp them out have been futile as they are adamant in the destruction of government property; killing innocent citizens; burning down police stations and generally retarding development in the zone".

For Governor Uzodimma, the need for pushback against the bandits became inevitable knowing fully well that the first duty of government is to serve its citizens.
The people themselves began to lose confidence in the government and, eventually, even lost confidence in their future.

But all of that began to change. The Governor stepped forward to reclaim ownership of the state and its destiny from the bandits. As a believer in law and order, he quickly embarked on measures to checkmate the bandits. To bolster peace, he created a new Ministry of Homeland Security.

The Governor proclaimed that the citizens will be protected and will not be forgotten. He moved swiftly to confront the challenges with the procurement of over 100 brand-new security vehicles coupled with communications gadgets meant to confront the criminals head-on. Over 15 armoured personnel carriers were deployed to comb the forests. He gave the courageous security men and women the support they needed and so dearly deserved. This was to ensure that there are no more threats to law-abiding citizens of the state.

The most unfortunate thing was the role of the opposition leaders in Imo State. As the stories about gun-toting "so-called-heroes" began to take centre stage, and sensing the political opportunities, they aligned with the killers and were so brazen to blackmail the security agencies, questioning why they should engage the bandits whom they described as liberation fighters and innocent youths. You will find multiple instances of the opposition issuing statements deriding the Governor and undermining the efforts of security agencies. 

Orsu local governments area was the epicentre as it was taken over by bandits, kidnappers and terrorists. Natives of the area were subjected to death and various forms of molestation including tasking them to pay all forms of illegal taxes before opening their shops.

The Governor himself lamented the role of the opposition especially their condemnation of the efforts to liberate Orsu. He said, “None of them attempted to visit the scene, while some are in Abuja talking to the media, some are also in Owerri here ranting that Imo State is bleeding. At the same Eke Ututu market, people don’t even go to the market without paying taxes to unknown gunmen. I mean taxes for them to be able to open their shops and this is what we have been fighting all through"

Continuing, he warned, “Let me use this medium to state that in the fight against, banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping in Imo State, the government will stop at nothing, it is not politics, it’s about the security of lives and properties of our people, so anybody who wants to play politics with that; well history will judge all of us"

At a time, the Governor extended an olive branch when he granted a 10-day window to bandits operating and hibernating in the forests to leave their places and surrender themselves and their arms to their traditional rulers for unconditional pardon. When this failed, he again announced N1m and N5m respectively as rewards for any person or group of persons, with useful information that could lead to the arrest of any bandit or identification of the camp of bandits in Imo State.

The Governor said: “The State is more determined now than before to clear all bandits and to achieve this, the expected equipment and additional recruitment of more personnel working in collaboration with the Security Agencies in the State will be used to clear all the waterways and ride the state of bandits including crude-oil thieves. All the waterways are under surveillance with the delivery of new Naval Equipment to the Naval Base in Oguta.”

The Governor also informed that his administration has put in place measures to decisively deal a final blow to all acts of criminalities and banditry in the state. He expressed disgust that bandits have done their worst, saying they have failed because his government has been able to push the agents of darkness away for light to shine.

Uzodinma further lamented that members of the opposition are blind to his modest achievements in the face of insecurity, banditry, unknown gun-men and social media terrorism, adding that his achievements are “ products of support from both Imo people and the Federal Government which are all APC.”

“Our national interest is important. Our national unity is important. Our ability to live together as brothers and sisters is also important. The primary purpose of government is for the security of lives and property and the welfare of our citizens".

True to his promise, Governor Uzodimma did not renege on his promise to support those police officers who paid with their lives in defence of Imo State. The families of the bereaved officers were not left to suffer. On a visit to the police headquarters to commiserate with them, the Governor not only provided funds but instituted an insurance scheme for the combat officers.

However one thing is certain, the politics of bitterness in Imo State contributed immensely to the insecurity.

The good news is that Governor Hope Uzodimma has risen to the occasion.